Does your special lady complain that after a few kisses, her upper lip feels like it’s been exfoliated thanks to your vintage 70s style moustache? Maybe it’s time for a clean shave, fella. With that in mind, check out the shave products from Grooming Lounge.

What’s remarkable about the Grooming Lounge shaving products is how they make you feel. And I don’t mean feelings in the nontangible sense, because men don’t have feelings, duh.

The two products I received were the Beard Master Shave Oil and the Beard Destroyer Shave Cream and I was amazed how my skin felt after I shaved… a day later. Even an hour or so after or shaving, I kept stroking my face and could immediately recognize how smooth and soft my skin was compared to normal, after shaving. It felt like velvet wrapped in butter, pressed lovingly against the heat of a young Neve Campbell’s neck, minutes after her epic love scene with Denise Richards in the movie “Wild Things.”

But what really made me fall in love with the product was how smooth and moisturized my skin still felt even two days later. Literally two full days later, I was sitting at my desk caressing my own face, longingly.

I followed the directions and used both products in concert, (i.e. I cocktailed them), and based on the ingredients of each, it was impossible to tell which product was responsible. The Shave Oil contained Meadowfoam Oil (lifts whiskers), Peppermint Oil (lubricates) and Avocado Oil (soothes). Not only did all these ingredients feel fantastic on my skin, but I would eat any one of them right now.

The Shave Cream contained Sandalwood Oil (cushions razor), Rosemary Oil (demands razor glide) and Eucalyptus (battles ingrowns). Also, these products from Grooming Lounge weren’t falling all over themselves to be touted as some natural or earthy alternative to other shaving products on the market. They were just really good; and when I looked at the ingredients afterwards, it made sense as to why my skin was so soft and smooth.

The shaving experience was equally as good as the product. The Shave Cream, described as “ultra-lubricating shaving lotion,” came off with one swipe of the blade, even in difficult areas like around your neck. And it only took a minimal amount of cream (combined with a small amount of water) to spread an adequate amount on my face. The scent of Minimalist Clove was also a nice, subtle touch.

The Shave Oil, or “pre-shave whisker lifter,” is a product you could use by itself on a day where your skin was perhaps a little dryer than usual. One dab of this potent little sucker could cover the entire side of your face and felt more like massage oil than a moisturizer thanks to the consistency and the way your skin absorbs it.

For the price (Shave Cream $16.20, Shave Oil $22.50) you can’t go wrong; you really do get what you pay for. But hey, if you don’t want to spend roughly $40 for the best shaving solution you’ve never tried, keep buying that bargain shave gel and feel good about the money you’re saving rather than the quality of the shave.

Check out the full line of Grooming Lounge products at their official site.

Do you ever just pick something up because it looks cool? I couldn’t even tell you the last time I did, but when the cruZer products from Braun arrived in the mail, I had to play with them because they just looked cool.

The cruZer line is a series of shaving devices created to express the diverse personalities of the men who use them. Your facial hair and body style express your own personality and attitude, and the cruZer line was designed to “underline your personal style.” And how does Braun plan on doing that? Unparalleled versatility.

I received two electric shavers from Braun: the CruZer6 Face and the CruZer Beard & Head Trimmer.

The CruZer6 Face electric razor is marketed as a 3-in-1 shaver, styler and trimmer, and it really was each of those, not just slick marketing. Its primary function is to shave your face, but even if you rock a goatee or Fu Manchu, you could still use it to touch up existing facial hair. The Trimming Comb is a plastic sheath that fits over the head of the shaver that you can adjust to four different lengths, which makes it ideal to trim and maintain a beard or other type of facial hair.

Another feature that speaks to the versatility of the CruZer6 is the Twistable Trimmer on the back side. The trimmer has long been a staple of an electric shaver, but unfortunately, its lack of adjustability is also well known. Not only does the CruZer6 trimmer extend out from the base of the shaver to give you an additional couple inches to work with, it also has two different sizes of trimmer head — narrow and wide. Instead of adjusting your style to fit the function of the razor, the CruZer6 adjust to the needs of the user and provides additional flexibility that other electric razors don’t. In a pinch, you could even use the CruZer6 to shave and manscape or trim any other body hair because it is so versatile.

Since I was so impressed overall with the CruZer6 and its design, I decided to put it to the test. I used it on two separate occasions — once, after not shaving for a period of five days, and then again two days later to compare and contrast. I will have you know that I hadn’t used an electric since I was roughly a freshman in high school because I have always found the shave to be inferior compared to a razor. Not only was there always more irritation (thanks to having to go over trouble spots repeatedly) and little white bumps, but it just didn’t really feel as refreshing as shaving with a razor.

The first thing that jumped out at me was how wide the saving head was — its width was wider than any previous shaver head I had encountered. Plus, the flat SmartFoil technology was more favorable compared to multiple, rotating heads. It made the shave much cleaner.

The CruZer6 did have a little trouble handling the five days of growth, but that is to be expected from any electric in that scenario. But what it didn’t do was rip my hair out, or prove to be uncomfortable. Two days later, I fired up the CruZer6 again and was not disappointed. The shaving head cut a wide swath through my facial hair and didn’t require me to go over the same spots repeatedly — it was essentially a one and done scenario. There was some difficulty around the contours of my neck, but what was cool was being able to pop out the twistable trimmer and handle those areas. All in all, it was a much better experience than the last time I shaved with an electric. And it was quick — I was done in roughly seven minutes. Some other nice features? It only takes five minutes to charge (making it ideal for use during travel), it’s waterproof and easy to clean.

The CruZer Beard and Head Trimmer was actually the first of the two products I used because my faux goatee/soul patch combo was in dire need of some love. Since I am an old schooler at heart, I had been using small grooming scissors to even out the hair that encircled my chin and the hair below my lip. But, since you can rarely be objective on matters regarding yourself, I could never know for sure how even or uneven my trimming actually was.  

The first thing I noticed when I unsheathed the trimmers was the beard comb which lets you choose between six different length settings. Nicer still was the ability to go from one length to another simply by sliding it into the desired position, rather than having to fumble around with and remove attachments of different lengths.

Since I like to keep my facial hair a little longer, I set it to six and cautiously proceeded- but my caution proved to be unnecessary. After a few strokes, the hair on my chiny, chin, chin was even and looked sharp. And the trimmer didn’t tug to pull on my hair; it trimmed it rather than pulling or tugging it out. It was very smooth. The beard comb is also removable, which allows you to cut or even fade your hair. I loved this because as the proprietor of a fade, trimming the fire breathing demon of neck hair needs to be done between cuts and makes the fade look better for longer. In five minutes, my neck hair was trimmed and I felt clean. And my skin wasn’t irritated after like it can be with other electric clippers.

The need to trim my soul patch lead me to the discovery of the next feature — a sliding trimmer (separate from the primary trimmer on the front) located on the back that extended and slid out with the push of a button. It was narrow, but not too small, which allowed you to trim whatever hair you were targeting in an efficient manner. I neatly trimmed up the three sides of my soul patch and looked in the mirror — I was impressed.

Using both the CruZer6 and the Head and Beard Trimmer was like a shaving intervention — I had been living in the dark ages using a razor and scissors, and in the process, limiting myself and my style. And I wasn’t even aware until I broke my normal pattern. In addition to being effective, both cruZer products just looked cool sitting on my sink. If someone used my bathroom and saw them I could momentarily fool them into thinking I had my shit together.  

“Wow, Paul has really turned a corner in his life. I never thought that dude would grow up.”

To check out the entire cruZer line from Braun, visit theofficial site or follow this link.

We first tested the AphaGel Shave Gel for Sensitive Skin and we felt the quality in this product when first applied. The ShaveGel is Dermatologically tested without any fragrance. The company claims the low-foam formula helps protect, moisturize and lubricate your skin throughout the shave giving excellent razor performance and glide. Ideal for sensitive skin and we found that to be true.

Next up was the razor that came with the travel kit. The razor works like a charm and has the award winning Azor System Razor which features unique flexible hinges that allow the four long-lasting Endurium blades to follow every contour of your face whilst pressing the blades progressively closer onto the skin for a superbly comfortable yet close shave. I then went right to the King of Shaves Face Balm which employs a unique Skin Surface Enhancing technology, with Hydrocreatine to protect, moisturise and condition your skin leaving it non-greasy, supple and smooth. Formulated with menthol to give you a cool, refreshed feel. I foind this to be one of the better after shave balms I have tried and the price is very reasonable.

For my next shave I tried the King of Shaves Shave Oil which protects, moisturizes and lubricates your skin throughout the shave giving superlative razor performance and glide. Your face will be left smooth, supple and moisturized. Up to 100 shaves from one bottle is no joke for small a small travel friendly package. I really enjoyed this product and I’m using it today as it really soothes your face and delivers one of the best shaves you could image. Top notch!

Overall the products we tested from King of Shaves were of high quality, practical and packaged properly.